An Unexpected Turnabout
by Fuuin
Summary: He had to admit, looking back now... Jiraiya messing with the Kyuubi's seal could have been the greatest thing that ever happened to him. And if he was given the chance to change things? He wouldn't have it any other way.


Disclaimer; I don't own Naruto.

I don't exactly need to say anything beyond I hope that you enjoy the chapter. And remember; review after you're finished!

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><p>CH1: Kushina's Revival<p>

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><p>He couldn't help the unease that he was feeling. Jiraiya stood in front of him and examining the Key left behind by the Fourth Hokage. A key that could unlock the seal on his stomach. A key that could release the strongest of the Bijuu.<p>

"Are you sure that this' safe?"

Jiraiya had come back earlier than usual from his research, talking about loosening the seal to allow him more access to the demonic chakra. He was naturally opposed to making that sort of risk as he wasn't interested in releasing his prisoner. But his mentor wouldn't tolerate his complaints. So, the blond was forced to watch as the older shinobi made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

It hadn't taken long before the Toad Sage was finished reading. Examining, whatever. He didn't know what the hell his teacher was doing with the Key to be honest. Jiraiya stood from his crouch and got near him, a serious look upon his face that told the Uzumaki that he wasn't getting out of this. "Lets get this over with, Naruto."

An expression of hesitance crossed his features.

He reluctantly unzipped his jacket and removed the article of clothing as well as the shirt beneath. Naruto was left standing shirtless, the seal on his stomach exposed to the world. The bane of his existence. Kyuubi no Youko; otherwise known as the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Jiraiya channeled chakra into the tips of his fingers. And in seconds, before the blond had realized that it happened, the man slammed his fingers into the seal and _twisted_. He was thrown backwards because of the strength behind the action, collapsing onto the floor in a heap. _'… time to see if he's got the potential to control that furball.'_

A pillar of sickening red energy appeared in place of his student. Chakra of the Kyuubi. Jiraiya's entire body tensed at the sight and was already midway through a series of handsigns when he was attacked. From within the pillar of chakra, a hand emerged and grabbed him. His technique found itself interrupted and his body in pain from the toxic nature of the energy.

The rest of the pillar cleared and left behind something twisted. He could see the obvious fact that it was Naruto, of course. His characteristic spiky hair was hard to miss, it was the rest of him that inwardly scared the Fuuinjutsu Master.

Naruto was covered in the Bijuu chakra, a bloody cloak of sorts that made him resemble the Nine-Tails. Two, white circles had replaced his eyes and his mouth glowed the same color. Even from this distance, the elderly shinobi could see the pointy teeth that left him capable of tearing through flesh. And the worst part that left him feeling scared for the first time in decades was the four tails that swayed behind the Jinchuuriki.

"Please, Kami, tell me that you're kidding me. Please."

Jiraiya knew that his pleas would remain unanswered, just like all the other ones in the past. He would need to rely on his own skill and some luck to escape from this situation. His chakra was forced into the familiar patterns as he used a seal-less technique. In a heartbeat his hair had grown longer and pointy, impaling the hand holding him in midair.

Mini-Kyuubi dropped him and the Toad Sage was quick to create distance between them. A purely Taijutsu fight with the possessed Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi? Thanks, but he was feeling rather selfish about his life at the moment.

Ninjutsu was the method to use. At least for this battle. He would bolt in after he was able to stun the possessed teenager and use one of the Fuuinjutsu tags that he created for situations like this. It would, hopefully, restrain the chakra of the Kyuubi and let his student resume control of the body. Hopefully.

Fuuinjutsu wasn't one of the riskiest branches of the shinobi arts for nothing.

As the older shinobi prepared for one of the hardest fights of his life, he remained unaware of the events going on inside of the Jinchuuriki's head.

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><p>A scream ripped itself from his throat and he screamed until he couldn't scream anymore. He was in pain, the sort of pain that just wouldn't stop coming. Kami, the Uzumaki wished that he could just die or find some way to stop this. All of this.<p>

"Please… someone help me. Please!" Tears fell down his face, his hands clutching the side of his head.

Kyuubi was in the background. In spite of the fact that it was still inside of the cage, a dark red chakra swarmed the mindscape of the blond. Kyuubi was still the prisoner but he was also in control at the moment. And he wanted his host to suffer.

Naruto had never dealt with this level of pain in his entire life. He would've happily preferred the silent treatment of the villagers over this throbbing ache in his chest. Stupid Jiraiya. Stupid Minato Namikaze. Stupid Konohagakure no Sato!

This would've never happened if the Fourth Hokage had sealed the Kyuubi inside of him in the first place. Would've never happened if his stupid teacher hadn't tampered with the seal holding back the Bijuu. Never happened if the village had given birth to such legendary shinobi capable of such awe inspiring achievements.

He prayed for what felt like centuries for someone to just end this painful torture. For someone to end his ignored existence, once and for all. But the only people that were inside of his mind was him and his prisoner.

And then, everything… stopped. All that pain that racked his body had stopped. All the screaming laughter in the background from the Kyuubi had stopped. All the negative thoughts that had filled his head had stopped.

Kami had given him mercy.

Naruto slowly, uncertainly, stood on his feet and looked ahead of him at the cage of the Kyuubi. A field of crimson hair filled his vision and made him freeze in his place. His mind reached the worst conclusion possible. Had the Nine-Tails escaped his prison?

Finally, the person or thing that had ambushed him came into a definite appearance. He felt as though the air was knocked out of his lungs as he looked at the person in front of him. _She_ was beautiful, a true beauty amongst all the ones that he's seen before her.

A slender but feminine build was the first thing that he saw, while her long bright red hair and violet-blue eyes were the next thing he noticed. Her bright red hair reached her ankles with strands that framed both sides of her face, a clip was being used to keep some of her hair parted towards the left.

Her outfit was the final and last thing that his eyes lingered on. A dark blue high-collared, sleeveless loose-fitting dress that had a green apron thrown over it. On her left wrist was the standard black wristband and plain blue shinobi sandals on her feet. Simple but the woman looked absolutely beautiful in the clothes.

Then his brain managed to catch up with his emotions.

"What the hell are you doing in my head?"

Red looked at him in a brief moment of surprise, probably from his outburst and he felt the makings of embarrassment at the back of his mind. Or his subconscious. He was never entirely sure when things concerned his mindscape. The place was confusing as hell as far as he was concerned.

A smile crossed her face and he felt his heart flutter in his chest. He blushed and looked off into some far begotten corner of his mind. "Okay… try to guess who I am, Naruto."

Hold on! She knew his name?

But he complied with her request and looked at her, taking in every inch of her appearance to ponder her identity. C-cups and lovely, curved hips that left him wanting more. Eyes that made him feel loved and wanted all at the same time. And hair that looked like the same color as the Kyuubi.

Naruto began to sweat because of the sheer amount of concentration that he was putting into finding out who she was. Red bowed her head and began laughing faintly, amused by his expression. His eyes opened wide as his mind made the most likely conclusion.

"It can't be…!" A numbing fear settled in, replacing his embarrassment from earlier. Kami no, please. Please, anybody but that.

Red looked at him, smiling with unrestrained happiness. "Have you got it?"

He pointed at her.

"You! You're the Kyuubi's real form!"

And just like that, he made her bowl over in laughter. She was laughing so hard that she held her midsection to calm the small ache brought on by so much laughter. The blond looked at her in disgust, "What an uncouth laugh. You think you can fool me by disguising yourself as a woman!"

Naruto collapsed as her first was embedded in the top of his head. Kami, being hit by the Kyuubi was like being hit by Sakura. In layman terms, it hurt like hell.

"No, ttebane!"

D-Did he just hear what he thought he heard? A look of confusion was plastered on his face. _'… ttebane?'_

"Haha! It just slipped out!" Red rubbed the back of her head with obvious embarrassment.

Oh no, he was feeling a pit of horror beginning to dawn in his stomach. He was already getting the faintest suspicion of this woman's true identity. Instead of the one that his impulsive thoughts had reached just moments before.

Red continued her explanation. "I'm just naturally impatient and a fast talker, so adding that onto my sentences became a habit… I've been trying to stop saying it, but when I get excited…" she blushed and her eyes closed, "What about you? I hope you didn't end up with any weird verbal tics like me."

His suspicions were confirmed and his expression changed to convey his revelation. He couldn't even think of something to say about what this woman had just told him. The mere idea that his mother was standing in front of him seemed impossible. But the Kyuubi was in the background, sealed inside of him. If that was possible with Fuuinjutsu, why couldn't this be?

Naruto shamed himself with the fact that he had checked her out earlier but didn't let that keep him down. Instead, he lunged at her and hugged her for everything that he was worth and refused to release her. This was the first time that he had ever met her and this could also be the very last time.

Her bright red hair felt like silk on his fingers as they weaved between the many strands.

"I've always- always wanted to see you, ttebayo!" Tears that had once threatened to spill from the pain finally escaped with the boundless joy that filled his heart.

Red hugged him back with a smile on her face. "… ttebayo, huh? You really do take after me."

A comfortable silence fell between the pair.

Naruto released her almost reluctantly, a familiar smile on his face as he held his arms at his sides. It looked as though he was going to embrace her but instead, he spoke.

"There are so many things I wanted to ask if I ever saw you!"

Kyuubi looked from his seat in the cage, shock and terror dawning beneath the endless sea of hatred that was in the Bijuu's eyes. _**'Kushina? That blond bastard sealed her inside of here as well!'**_

Kushina looked at her former prisoner from the corner of her eyes, a serious look inside of her violet-blue eyes. It was the look that the Fox dreaded the most, that look always meant that she had something planned. And in this situation, that plan was directed toward him.

"Yeah. We can take our time and talk… but first, we have to take care of the Kyuubi."

Nine-Tails really hated when he was right sometimes. Especially now.

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><p>Jiraiya looked on in fascination, seeing the Mini-Kyuubi stopping in the middle of the clearing. His clothes had been torn to shreds because of his fight with the possessed Jinchuuriki and his chest was bloody. One of the claws had gotten too close for comfort and removed a layer of skin. He was pretty sure that the injury would heal over into a scar, one to add onto all the others that littered his body.<p>

Slowly, the putrid red chakra that shrouded the shinobi began to morph into a golden color. The cloak no longer resembled that of the Demon Fox but the Rikudo Sennin of legend, a new and more intricate seal was proudly shown on the arms, chest, and legs. In the wake of such an event, he was left questioning the reason behind the miracle.

Naruto's balance was unstable after the change and he was stumbling forwards. Thankfully, the blond caught and righted himself before he had the unfortunate experience of eating the dirt. A content look appeared on the face of his student and suddenly, his curious multiplied by the dozens. What in the name of Kami happened in his head?

"Are you alright, Naruto?"

Jiraiya felt concerned for his apprentice and mentally promised to apologize for screwing with the seal. He was surprised by Naruto when, instead of replying, the Uzumaki created a Kage Bunshin. It was almost identical except for the lack of the Sennin cloak. And the Genin hadn't stopped there, either.

He painted some type of seal on the chest of his Bunshin, one that he couldn't recognize in the slightest. Jiraiya admitted that the design was familiar and he was quick to question where he had seen the seal from before, although no memories came to mind. Then, the Bunshin performed the improved Oiroke no Jutsu.

Jiraiya was too distracted to ask his student what he was doing, his eyes locked onto the revealed breasts of the transformed Kage Bunshin. He never took notice of the handsign that the blond had performed before touching the chest of his clone, causing it to disappear beneath a veil of smoke. Afterwards, the perverted Hermit witnessed a sight that he never dreamed of seeing in his lifetime.

Kushina stood in front of his apprentice, naked as the day she was born. He noticed the only difference between the wife of his previous student and this new female almost immediately. This Kushina was the same age as Naruto. Still, the confusion that he was feeling was too difficult to ignore or hide behind his usual perversion.

Hell, the need to research this new female was killed by her resemblance to his deceased friend. Jiraiya shivered at the memory of his last attempt at spying on her when she was still amongst the living… one of the few times that he was close to death, the first time being when he was spying on Tsunade and the latest being with the previously possessed Jinchuuriki. Or Mini-Kyuubi. Either of them would've fit the situation perfectly.

"Naruto… who's that?"

Jiraiya had the slightest feeling that he may just know this Kushina lookalike.

His apprentice looked back at him, absently passing the redhead his discarded jacket that had remained untouched. "Her? Uzumaki Kushina, of course."

Naruto looked and sounded so proud of himself. A feat that hadn't been seen since they first started the training trip and the blond had grasped the basics of the Hari Jizo. And the Rasengan, nobody could forget the Rasengan. His student had learned the A-rank technique in under a month, after all.

"Oh?"

Jiraiya was unconscious before his head even hit the floor, the stress of his injuries and the biggest shock of his lifetime rendering him comatose.

Kushina looked at the prone form of her so-… no, her friend's teacher. A awkward look appeared in her eyes and she motioned for the blond to pick him up. "We should really get him to the nearest hospital… don't need the old hermit dying on us, do we?"

The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki nodded mindlessly, still trying to process all the many things that happened in the last few minutes. Hours. Whatever. Mindscape-related topics remained ever so confusing for him.

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><p>He was pulled from the comfort of his subconscious by the sound of someone loudly speaking in the background. <em>Naruto<em>, the man thought. His student was the only one that he knew that could speak so loudly in the hospital and not care for the consequences. It was just the way that the blond was and the older shinobi didn't plan to change that.

His apprentice was unique. A trait that had helped in his decision when he had first considered taking the rookie under his wing. Sure, he would've preferred to sleep more after what seemed more like a dream than reality but he couldn't afford to stay in one place for too long. Akatsuki was still on the hunt for the Jinchuuriki and they couldn't let them lay their hands on the Nine-Tails.

Jiraiya opened his eyes for the first time in two days to see the most bizarre scene in front of him.

A woman that he had thought long dead was standing beside his student, dressed in the very same clothes that she had worn at the age of fifteen. Her upper body was concealed by a light orange short sleeve, kimono-like blouse with a dark embroidered border and loose sleeves. She also had on a dark skirt with stockings that stopped at her thighs underneath. Black, standardized shinobi sandals covered her feet.

Fine! He had to admit, this whole scene was the most bizarre thing that he had ever seen! Even the Third Great Shinobi World War failed to compare, as that was something that he knew he could handle. This? He didn't even know what in the hell _this_ was!

Naruto seemed to have taken notice of his consciousness, seeing as his cerulean orbs were locked on his own dark brown. "Mornin', Pervy Sage."

He prayed for the sweet blissful embrace of his subconscious but, as before, his prayers went unanswered. Kami must've been a woman if the deity was being this merciless, believing this as his punishment for peeping on the opposite sex for the last four or so decades. He almost considered the idea of quitting his hobby but crushed that option the moment it had passed through his mind.

No, that just wouldn't do. As the author of the Icha Icha series, he couldn't and wouldn't disappoint his fan base by ceasing his production of the books. Haha, the female population would probably celebrate the day his books stopped hitting the shelves.

Jiraiya was pulled from his wonderland of thought, still burdened with the task of finding out just _what in the hell happened_! It was just common sense that deceased people stayed deceased. They didn't spontaneously appear in the mindscape of their last living relative or create themselves a new body using Fuuinjutsu and the Kage Bunshin technique as the base, either.

And so far, his student had proceeded to not only kick the living hell out of common sense but throw the poor thing out of the window. Expected as it was, this was one of the few things that the Toad Sage had figured wouldn't happen. He believed that such a scenario was impossible but his apprentice had proven him wrong… just like every damn expectation that he had for the Genin.

Naruto was most definitely the Child of the Prophecy if he could bring the dead back to life without the assistance of Orochimaru's Kuchiyose; Edo Tensei technique.

"Can either one of you explain what exactly happened in Naruto's head?" His voice almost sounded pleading. A strange occurrence for both of the adolescents in the hospital room.

Jiraiya had rarely, if ever, pleaded for something in front of one of them. Given the circumstances though, they could understand why he would feel this way.

"Well…" the redhead began.

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><p><em>Kyuubi laid in the background, defeated by the combined might of the Uzumaki duo. He looked starved, his flesh hanging off the very bones that they covered. In spite of all this, he still had the strength to glare at the blond and redhead. Both of whom the Kitsune was cursing inside of his own thoughts.<em>

_A newly constructed Torii Gate kept the greatest of the Bijuu restrained. In front of the new construction was the massive gates that laid in front of it, keeping the Kyuubi placed in two seals. It wasn't likely to escape at any point in the near future._

_Located far away from the creature, encaged between four Torii Gates was the chakra of the beast in question. Without the hatred of the Bijuu corrupting the chakra, it was golden in color and looked like the sun itself was shining on the mindscape. It was quite the nice change of pace for him, so used to walking in the sewer-like pathways that used to make up his mind._

_Now, all that remained of his previous mindscape was the water that coated the flooring. Aside from that, everything else continued into eternity, no borders or walls to indicate the beginning or end of his own brain. He preferred this over the old mindscape by miles and never wanted to return to walking in the sewers, not now and certainly not in the rest of his lifetime._

_Naruto was sitting on the surface of the water, his mother sitting beside him as they stared into the distance._

_They had talked for the last ten or twenty minutes, neither of them could really tell because of the way that time flowed differently in this place. He had learned much of his origins, from the identity of his father to the real reason behind the Kyuubi's attack. He had also learned that his mother was the previous Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, effectively making him the Sandaime in terms of his kind._

_That revelation had brought no small amount of amusement as he tried to compare himself to Sarutobi Hiruzen; the Sandaime Hokage. However, all good things must come to an end and he was forced to witness as his mother was fading away._

_Naruto was far too stubborn to allow her to escape his grasp, not after he had finally gotten her back after all these years. So, impulsive as he was, he had asked his mother for some way to save her from passing on. From leaving him alone in this world again._

_Fuuinjutsu was capable of caging the strongest of the Bijuu, sealing the very essence of someone inside other people, and traveling large distances in the blink of an eye. Why couldn't Fuuinjutsu bring someone back to life?_

_Kushina was reluctant at first, believing that her time had come and that she didn't deserve a second chance at life. But with his stubborn personality, even the Akai Chishio no Habanero had fallen before him. Afterwards, the woman had thought of a plan that could bring her back onto the physical plane… but with a price, as all thing were known to require._

_If the blond were to use a Kage Bunshin of his as the base, the body that she would inherit as her own, she would return to being whatever age the user of the technique was. In layman terms, she would become fifteen again. All of her memories and experience would remain untouched, though._

_Naruto had been far beyond excited to know of this._

_And moments before he had left his mindscape, he had looked at her. Truly looked at her, and told her something that she had never expected. "I hate that I feel this way, really I do… but I've gone through life without you or Dad for the last fifteen years. After this' done, I'll think of you as one of my friends. My mother died the day I was born."_

_Then he was gone and the next thing she knew she was in her fifteen-year old body, looking at the Toad Sages comatose body._

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><p>"… and that's what happened in his head." she finished, panting lightly to reclaim the breath she lost in retelling the story.<p>

Jiraiya stared at the redhead in disbelief and thought about calling her out as the Kyuubi reborn or some type of spy that had recreated the Yamanaka clan techniques. But, deep in his heart, he knew that she was telling nothing short of the truth. Fuuinjutsu certainly was capable of such things.

"I didn't think this was possible. You can bet on Tsunade's rack that I want to know the specifics behind this, though. Spill it."

He wasn't kidding or at least, he didn't sound like he was kidding. The look in his eyes only confirmed this speculation. Kushina looked out the window, her mind collecting the information that went into the creation of the process. A simple process, really.

"A remix of the standard storage seal and the seal used for semi-permanent Henge no Jutsu's during extended Anbu missions. I had some difficulty making it to where the seal was permanent upon activation." Kushina smiled as her Uzumaki heritage demonstrated itself, "My chakra that was sealed into Naruto was transferred over and in about two days, my reserves will return to where they were when I was fifteen."

Naruto was looking at her in slight understanding but most of the mechanics that were being mentioned went completely over his head. Fuuinjutsu wasn't his area of expertise.

"You could say that my biological clock was turned backwards and that I never died."

Jiraiya laughed uproariously at the redhead, as only she could find something as intricate as that _simple_. Uzushiogakure no Sato was renowned for the most skilled users of Fuuinjutsu in the entire world, they made him look like he was still studying the basics. A seasoned Seal Master.

'_Kami, it looks like things just got a lot more complicated for me.'_

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><p>- Fuuin<p> 


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